ShellGPT

[ Introducing ShellGPT ]

A command-line tool that allows you to interact with GPT-4 directly from your terminal.

https://github.com/mattvr/ShellGPT/assets/4052466/4a72a1b2-2d60-44ff-b491-8057146d71ae

Basic Usage

To use ShellGPT, simply run the command with your input message:

gpt "What is the meaning of life, the universe, and everything?"
# ... often humorously said to be the number 42 ...

You can also run shell commands with -x:

gpt -x "Undo my last git commit"
# git reset HEAD~1
# Are you SURE you wish to run the above command? (y/N): y

gpt -x "Download the wikipedia page for Capybaras with all images"
# wget -r -l 1 -H -t 1 -nd -N -np -A jpg,jpeg,gif,png -erobots=off https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capybara

And pipe input and output, transforming files and commands (pass - to accept stdin):

cat mod.ts | gpt "Generate a helpful README file for this project" - > README.md

cat crash.log | gpt "Why is this crash occurring?" -

gpt "Output a CSV of 10 notable cities in Japan with their name in English & Japanese plus a fun fact enclosed in quotes" > japan.csv

Installation

  1. Install the Deno runtime.

  2. Run the following command to install ShellGPT:

deno run -rA https://deno.land/x/shellgpt/install.ts
  1. Ensure $HOME/.deno/bin is in your PATH.
export PATH="$HOME/.deno/bin:$PATH"

After restarting your shell, that's it! You can now use gpt [my request] - or whatever you named the script during installation.

Configuration

You must set the OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable in your current shell, using a key obtained from https://platform.openai.com/account/api-keys:

export OPENAI_API_KEY=...

You can also set OPENAI_CHAT_URL if you'd like to target a different OpenAI-compatible API endpoint (e.g. Local Llama, Anthropic, etc.).

To configure the specific ChatGPT model, system prompt used, and more, you can type gpt --config

Commands and Arguments

Global Commands

These commands are used for general ShellGPT-wide operations.

Argument Alias Description
--help Show help
--config --cfg Configure the model and system prompt
--update Update ShellGPT to the latest version
--history -h List all past conversations

Chat Commands

These commands are for specific chats, either new or existing.

Argument Alias Description
- Read from stdin
--continue --cont, -c Continue the last conversation
--exec -x Run the output as a shell command
--code Returns code as the response
--name -n Name of chat from history to operate the command on
--repl Enters a REPL mode with continuous chat
--retry -r Regenerate the last assistant message
--rewrite --rw, -w Rewrite the last user message & regenerate response
--print -p Print the last message in the conversation
--pop Remove the last message in the conversation
--slice -s Remove the first message in the conversation
--dump -d Dump the entire chat history
--fast -f Use the GPT-3.5-turbo model
--system --sys Set a system prompt or context
--temperature --temp, -t Control the model's creativity
--wpm Words per minute, control the speed of typing output
--max_tokens --max Maximum number of tokens to generate
--model -m Manually use a different OpenAI model
--debug Print OpenAI API information
--lang Sets written or programming language of output

Other Commands

These commands perform non-textual tasks.

Argument Alias Description
--img -i Respond with a generated image URL instead of text

Features

Shell-GPT has some useful and unique features:

  • Execute shell commands with a confirmation step (just pass -x).
  • Supports input/output piping for simple file creation and transformation (see Basic Usage).
  • Utility commands for convenient chat history viewing and editing.
  • Smooth, streaming output, resembling human typing rather than delayed or choppy responses.
  • Supports image generation and custom language input/output.
  • Built in Deno for better performance, granular permissions, and easier script modification.

Examples

Continuing the conversation:

gpt "Give me 5 examples of auto-antonyms"
# Sanction, Bolt, Peruse, Trim, Overlook

gpt -c "Give 5 more"
# Cleave, Dust, Weather, Consult, Off

Regenerating the last assistant message:

gpt "Generate a tweet from the perspective of a cat"
# "Just spent 5 hours napping and now I can't decide if I should eat, stare out the window, or nap some more. #CatLife 🐾😽💤" ...

gpt -r
# Just knocked my hooman's coffee off the counter again... you'd think they'd learn by now nothing is safe at paw level 😹 #LivingLifeOnTheEdge #NineLives

Viewing and resuming past conversation history:

gpt --history
# shellgpt-demo-chat
# cat-tweets
# ...

gpt --name "cat-tweets" "Generate more, please"

gpt --dump # Dumps entire chat history

Setting a system prompt and custom temperature:

gpt --temp 0.85 --max 250 --sys "An AI personal trainer" "What exercises should I do for leg day?"

Increasing the speed of the output using GPT-3.5-turbo and custom WPM:

gpt --fast --wpm 1500 "How can I improve my programming skills?"

Output an image:

gpt --img "a corgi wearing cashmere pants hacking into myspace.com"

Interactive coding session:

gpt --code --repl "Write a typescript function that prints the first 100 primes"